


where mermaid kingdoms breathe

by grammartian



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, MerMay, Noctopus, mermaid au, tags will change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-16 16:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18694987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grammartian/pseuds/grammartian
Summary: Ignis is a normal college student, till one day he meets a man with eyes like the ocean and hair like the night that changes his life forever.





	where mermaid kingdoms breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SheerahChi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheerahChi/gifts).



It was spring. Exam period, to be exact, and the library was full.

Ignis's favourite café was full as well.

He couldn't study at home either, because his uncle was staying over for a few days.

So he looked for another café in the quieter part of town.

That was mostly full as well. _Of course._

At least it was just business people on their lunch breaks, not loud students.

He got in line for a coffee to go anyway, but by the time he had paid and was waiting for his drink, there was still nowhere to sit. Maybe he was going to find a quiet place in the park or something.

While Ignis waited, he looked around the café one last time and then met eyes with another young man sitting at a table. He glanced at Ignis's backpack, then raised his textbook. Ignis blinked a few times, before gesturing at himself. The other man nodded with a smile.

Right then Ignis's coffee was ready and he hastily took his cup, then went towards the unknown man.

'Need somewhere to study?' He spoke, a pleasant breathy voice.

'If you're offering a seat,' Ignis said with a nod.

The man reached over to take his backpack from the chair across him.

'Name's Noctis,' he said with a smile.

Ignis introduced himself as he sat down.

'Finding a place to study today has been impossible.'

'It's spring, and there's some kind of sportsball event today I think?'

'I should have gone out earlier, then.'

'Maybe,' Noctis answered, leaning on his hand, some sort of amusement playing in his eyes, which were so blue. Ignis realised he was staring.

A few hours of trying not to stare and talk too much, Noctis collected his things and smiled. 'I hope I'll see you around,' he said.

'Wait, how could I find you again?' Ignis asked, then realised he sounded kind of desperate. 'In case I have nowhere to study again,' he hurried to add, earning a chuckle from Noctis.

'I come here almost every day, I'm sure we'll meet again,' he said, the smile not leaving his face, and left.

That morning he had gone out to find a quiet place to study, and even though he'd found the perfect little spot thanks to Noctis, he hadn't made any progress.

 

* * *

 

Ignis waited a few days (and, well, he did have school work to do) before going back to that cafe, hoping to see Noctis again. He wasn't there yet, but as it was mostly empty still, Ignis found himself a seat, close to the till.

While he was trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling that he had somehow misunderstood Noctis or perhaps just been too intense and scared him off, he heard the voice that made his heart skip a beat.

Noctis was at the till. Ignis waited for him to turn and waved at him as soon as he did.

'Ignis!' Noctis called, that sweet smile appearing on his face, and Ignis's heart skipped a couple beats again. His hair was tied back and seemed freshly wet

'I saved you a seat,' Ignis said, moving his bag from the chair.

Once the two settled and , Ignis realised his study partner smelled like seawater.

 

* * *

  

They kept meeting in the same cafe to study, even if sometimes they'd completely forget their books and talk about other things, losing track of time. Things from the past, plans for the future, family, friends.

Ignis found out Noctis had quite a big family, with his two dads, uncle, brother and sister.

He was going to attend the same university as him that autumn.

He enjoyed fishing and lazing around on the beach.

Once exams were over they went to celebrate at the movies and Ignis had to tell himself that it wasn't a date, calm down. Or maybe it was; the thought was driving him up the wall. He needed to know if he was the only one feeling like that or not, as daunting as admitting his feelings was. One thing was sure, though.

He was falling hopelessly in love with Noctis.

It was another few weeks, till summer was in full swing, before Ignis finally mustered the courage to speak to Noctis about it.

'So, er,' Ignis said eloquently, the little bundle in his pocket burning a hole in his leg. 'I'd like to give you something. Actually I'd like to talk,' He added hastily, realising it wasn't as simple as giving it to him.

'Hm? Sure, how about you come over? I got some stuff to do first, but I'm all yours after, say, five.'

 _If only_ , Ignis thought and swallowed a bit too hard. 'Okay, see you then.'

The next few hours Ignis spent in the agony of self-doubt. Was his idea too silly? He was no good at this romance business; the only person he'd dated before had been the one to initiate things and she had done all the extra work before she had to leave.

Perhaps if she saw him now she'd laugh and tell him not to be stupid and just do what he was thinking of doing.

When it was finally time to go to Noctis's house by the beach, he hesitated at the doorbell. He realised way too late he hadn't brought flowers or chocolates or--  anything. Just himself and this silly little present he'd gotten the idea for from a gods-damned book. Maybe it was better like that.

Finally he inhaled, exhaled, and rang the bell.

For a moment it was quiet and a new wave of anxiety flooded him as he thought of all the reasons Noctis might not be coming, including this being the wrong time.

But before he could chicken out and leave, the door opened.

He hadn't quite dressed up for the occasion and neither had Noctis but somehow he felt like a pauper in front of a prince facing that ethereal beauty.

'Ignis!' Noctis beamed up at him and moved from the door to let him in.

'Hey, I hope I'm not too early,' Ignis walked in and left his shoes by the door.

'All's well. You know where the kitchen is, yea? I'll be there in a second.'

Ignis been to his house a few times, and it looked as unlived in as ever, but he was used to that by then. Perhaps it was more lived-in now that Noctis was occupying it, though he couldn't help but wonder where his parents and siblings were. He talked about them enough he assumed they saw each other often.

Noctis finally entered again, holding a charger for his phone.

'Coffee?' He offered, as always.

'You know it,' Ignis said, like always, but felt his voice crack a bit at the end. Curse his nervousness.

'So, you wanted to talk about something?'

'Er, yes,' Ignis fidgeted with his hands. 'Noctis, you are... the most wonderful person I've met, truly, and I hope this would not change things if you... but I was wondering if you'd...' Ignis fumbled around his pocket to take out the small bundle. 'I thought it may be appropriate if I come with a gift more permanent than roses or chocolate as I said this and, so, I offer you this.'

Finally he offered the little bundle to Noctis, who untied the ribbon on it and took out the bracelet inside, made of pretty seashells and stone beads. He couldn't make out what Noctis was feeling exactly from the look on his face. Surprise, perhaps?

After what felt like an eternity, Noctis finally spoke, 'I want to make sure I understand you. You made this, for me, yeah?'

Ignis nodded, his mouth suddenly extremely dry. He fought back the urge to speak.

'And you are using this gift to ask me out?'

'Yes.'

'What.... What exactly gave you this idea?'

'A book I read had it as a romantic gesture and I thought... as I said a more permanent gift than-'

Noctis interrupted him with a laugh. Not mocking, no, it was clear and light, like the sort of laugh after something stressful happens.

'Ignis,' he said, voice lower and more serious, but the smile still clung to his lips. He offered his hand and chuckled again when Ignis took it. 'No, put the bracelet on my wrist.'

'S-so, Noctis, is that a-'

'Yes, Ignis!' He exclaimed. 'And call me Noct. Noctis is so formal.'

'Then... You may call me Iggy, for the same reason.'

While he was fumbling around with the clasp of the bracelet, Noct let out another chuckle. So much laughter today, huh?

'What's funny,' Ignis asked, only half paying attention.

'You're red as a lobster,' Noct said, then shook his arm once Ignis was done with the bracelet's clasp. It made a pleasant clinking noise. 'I can see you made it especially for me,' he said, and huffed with amusement when Ignis got even more flustered.

 

* * *

 

Ignis wasn't surprised when Noct told him he knew a nice place for a date. He did not, however, expect said place to be an isolated little beach a little ways off their town.

He also somehow hadn't expected Noct to be the type to drive, and honestly, he had been a bit nervous sitting in the passenger's seat, but his boyfriend seemed to know well enough how to drive.

Ignis had spent the previous day preparing food and the morning fussing over the details.

It wasn't like they hadn't gone out a few times already, but this was kind of special.

The plan for the day was fairly simple: have a picnic, a dip in the water, spend time together.

Evening found them on the picnic blanket, Noct sprawled on it with his head on Ignis's lap.

'And then Gladio picked up Prom and threw him--' Noct was saying but Ignis leant down and interrupted him with a kiss.

'Wow, if I knew talking about my brothers makes you want to kiss me-'

'Not quite,' Ignis said, the corner of his lip curled up.

'Well, you don't see me complaining,' Noct said and pulled him down for another kiss.

'Oh, hey,' Noct said once he'd let go of Ignis's head. 'Are you free next weekend?'

'I believe I am, why?'

'Can you come over for a couple hours then?'

'Sure.'

 

* * *

 

When Ignis arrived at Noct’s house the next week, something was apparently bothering the latter, as he kept fidgeting.

It felt a bit awkward before Noct finally told Ignis to wait for a few minutes, then go out to the back yard.

Nothing could have really prepared him for what he saw.

Noct was in the pool, that much seemed normal. But there were strange lines on the sides of his neck. His eyes seemed bigger and sharper. Ignis stood at the door, unsure what to do.

'You don't have to just stand there,' Noct finally spoke.

That seemed to snap Ignis out of it, and he finally took a step closer, the door closing behind him with a click.

'That is... Impressive?'

Noct looked rather nervous. At least Ignis wasn't the only one.

Finally Noct reached out a hand from the water to Ignis, who realised it had webs between the fingers which ended in rather sharp claws.

And he realised he hadn't just imagined how sharp Noct's teeth were as he spoke.

'I've wanted to tell you this from the start, I really have, but I had to make sure...' Noct said, then swam closer to the nearby ladder

But when he rose from the water, there were no legs. Where Noct's torso ended started dark, striped leathery skin branching into tentacles

Ignis couldn't think of what to say so he just stared.

'So, um,' Noct said, somehow slithering across the ground closer to Ignis.

'This is not a costume,' Ignis finally spoke, unsure in his own words.

'No, it's my real form. Oh wow, that sounds dramatic when I say it out loud.'

Ignis swallowed thickly.

'I thought... Mers were fairytales,' Ignis finally spoke. 'You are a mer, right?'

'Yes and as you can see I'm real.'

Silence stretched for a while, a myriad of questions filling Ignis's head before he heard himself say, 'May I?' He reached his hand out.

Noct tilted his head, then offered his hand, which Ignis took. It was still wet and unexpectedly warm. The skin was smoother and more leathery than a human's, the membranes connecting his fingers thin and stretchy.

'You're taking this better than I expected,' Noct said after a short silence.

'I'm still not entirely sure I'm awake,' Ignis replied, earning himself a snort from the other.

'So,' Ignis spoke again, 'do you have lungs or gills?'

'Technically we all have gills as mers, but I can keep my lungs if I want. He shuffled a bit, then sank down so his tentacles weren't holding him up at Ignis's height. 'I also don't really enjoy standing on ground like this, so if you don't mind,' Noct said, slid his hand from Ignis's, then slithered back to the pool and jumped in.

While he was still underwater, Ignis moved closer to the edge and crouched.

'I can tell you're dying to ask me stuff, so go ahead'

Ignis got serious as he realised something. 'I apologise to ruin the mood, but... By revealing this to me, I can't help but wonder what you lied to me about in these past few months.'

Noct winced. 'Yeaaah, I knew this would come, and I'm sorry, but I can't really introduce myself like "Hi, I'm Noct and I'm a mer," can I? Anyway, err... I really did hate having to lie to you, like, I couldn't wait for today to happen. On the bright side, I didn't actually lie that much!' He forced a smile though it fell fast. Ignis felt a bit bad for putting him on the spot like that.

After a few moments Ignis spoke, 'I understand why you had to lie, but please don't do it anymore.'

Noct perked up (his ears actually did perk up, Ignis noted) and he said, 'I promise I won't!'

A few minutes later, Ignis had taken off his shoes, rolled up his trousers and sat on the edge of the pool. He noticed it smelt salty, like the nearby sea instead of chlorine.

'So, does your family actually travel-'

'Two of my parents travel often, actually.'

'Two?'

'Right, yeah, uh... We have a set story we tell to humans because I have three dads and a mom, and that's apparently strange to you. So I just tell people I have two dads.'

An uneasy feeling settled in Ignis's stomach. 'Does this mean you have-'

'Nah,' Noct shrugged and Ignis immediately felt silly for thinking that.

'I do have two siblings though, and Prompto, but he's more like adopted, I guess.'

'And your uncle?' Ignis asked.

'Yeah, though I don't see him that often these days.'

Ignis snorted lightly. 'I don't see my uncle very often either.'

Soon after, Ignis helped Noct out of the pool and into a towel, and they continued talking inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [vanitaslaughing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanitaslaughing/pseuds/vanitaslaughing) for enduring my ramblings and helping me figure out the plot for this thing


End file.
